Xander Harris

Alexander 'Xander' Lavelle Harris is best friend to slayer Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg.

Early History
Alexander Lavelle Harris was born to Anthony and Jessica Harris in Sunnydale, California. Anthony was a self-pitying drunk and Jessica was a fragile mess without a stove. She was known to neglect her son and appear cheerful in front of strangers as an attempt to cover the true nature of her miserable life.

When he was thirteen, Xander attended Willow's bat mitzvah, where his parents drank to excess. Throughout the series, Xander's family was said to be unreliable and even abusive, and the main source of his insecurities.

Xander briefly dated his best friend Willow Rosenberg, but they broke up over a stolen Barbie when they were five. At his sixth birthday party, which Willow attended, his parents hired a clown who chased him, resulting in his fear of clowns. When Xander did not get a toy fire truck for his seventh birthday, the house next door caught fire. Xander saw real fire trucks then and believes he had Willow to thank.

The Scooby Gang
In his sophomore year of high school, Xander met Buffy Summers on her first day at Sunnydale High. He overheard her bizarre conversation with Rupert Giles in the school library and lost his male best friend Jesse McNally to vampires. Xander took the stand that "vampires are bad," and was forced to reluctantly stake his former friend. Following Jesse's death, Xander became a wisecracking sidekick of the Scooby Gang, often annoying those around him, including Angel, and the more uptight Giles. Xander soon developed a crush on Buffy, but it was never reciprocated. He saved Buffy's life by administering CPR after she was bitten by The Master and left to drown in a pool of water.

Cordelia
Xander gradually began a turbulent and ambiguous relationship with Cordelia after they were thrown together in several life-or-death situations. The military knowledge Xander acquired - thanks to a spell - enabled Buffy to defeat the Judge, a supposedly invulnerable demon. When being seen with Xander cost Cordelia her position among Sunnydale High's fashionable clique, she dumped him on Valentine's Day. Xander retaliated by coercing Amy Madison to cast a love spell, which misfired: for a few hours, until the spell was broken, Xander found himself irresistible to every girl, woman, and female vampire in sight; except Cordelia, who, realizing how much Xander cared for her, reunited with him in defiance of her former friends.

Xander revived an interest in Willow in their senior year of high school, and they shared a kiss which led to Cordelia suffering near-fatal injury, and the arrival of the vengeance demon Anyanka in Sunnydale. Following their break-up, Cordelia stepped up her usual ridicule of Xander, labeling him "The Zeppo" and mocking him for being useless compared to his friends, who are Slayers, witches, werewolves, and vampires. In an attempt to prove her wrong, Xander embarked on an adventure with a group of zombies led by tough guy Jack O'Toole, losing his virginity to Faith Lehane in the process. However, when O'Toole and his friends tried to blow up Sunnydale High, Xander single-handedly put an end to their plan. Later, he was asked to the Prom by Anya, formerly the vengeance demon Anyanka. At his high school graduation, Xander lead Sunnydale High's students against Mayor Wilkins and his vampires.

Anyanka
Xander's inferiority complex and feelings of isolation increased when he chose not to enroll in college with his friends. After graduating from high school, he set upon a cross-country trip inspired by Jack Kerouac's On the Road that ended when his car broke down. Returning to Sunnydale, he moved into his parents' basement, for which he had to pay rent, and took a series of odd jobs as a food vendor, a bartender, a phone-sex operator, and a deliveryman. After much persuasion, he had sex with Anya and they began dating.

Xander began to mature significantly, pursuing a more stable career in carpentry and construction work, and moving into his own apartment with Anya. When famous vampire Dracula came to Sunnydale in search of the Slayer, he hypnotized Xander into briefly becoming his willing manservant. The pair apparently remained in touch through letters following Dracula's departure. Shortly before going into battle with the hell-goddess Glory, Xander asked Anya to marry him should they survive.

Xander began to have doubts about his future with Anya. Hoping for a happy ending, he summoned the demon Sweet to turn Sunnydale into a living musical, which went horribly wrong when people started bursting into flames as well as song. Xander's fears over marrying Anya were made worse by a visit from a demon pretending to be his future self, showing him a bitter future trapped in a marriage similar to his parents. Although the vision was later revealed to be false, Xander admitted to having doubts beforehand and left a heartbroken Anya at the altar. When Willow turned evil after her girlfriend Tara Maclay was killed, Xander's love for his childhood friend turned her around and saved the world.

Xander struggled over his feelings with Anya and suffered a devastating injury. When Buffy's sister Dawn mistakenly believed herself to be a Potential Slayer, Xander empathised with her disappointment at not being the one in the spotlight. Despite admitting that they still loved each other, he and Anya finally broke up for good, but continued to have the odd fling in times of crisis. Xander had his left eye gouged out in a battle with the evil preacher Caleb, and began wearing an eye patch. In the final battle against the First Evil, Anya was killed by a Bringer's sword, and her body remained in the new Sunnydale High's ruins as the empty town was swallowed by the earth. Andrew Wells, whom she had fought alongside, comforted Xander by saying that Anya had died saving his life. Xander replied by saying, "That's my girl. Always doing the stupid thing."

Post Sunnydale
Following Sunnydale's destruction, Xander took a "leave of absence" from the Scooby Gang to mourn Anya's death. He spent some time in Africa, and eventually reunited with Dracula. Xander resumed his old position as the vampire's loyal manservant, living with him in his Transylvanian castle for several months, during which the pair offered each other company and Xander taught Dracula how to ride a motorcycle. Buffy eventually tracked her friend down and showed up at Dracula's castle with two other Slayers in a bid to rescue him, but the brainwashed Xander remained loyal to his "master" and tried to fight them off. Eventually, Dracula admitted that Xander belonged with his friends, and, after an emotional farewell, released him from his trance. Xander returned to the Scooby Gang, which had expanded into a worldwide organization, and took on a Watcher-like role leading various Slayer squads from the central command base in Scotland. Keeping in touch with his Slayers through computer screens and earpieces, he jokingly compares himself to comic book character Nick Fury.

Personality
Xander's most notable character trait is Sarcastic and Joke-making attitude with a sardonic view on life. He often jokes in serious situations or when someone makes what was intended to be a dramatic statement. He frequently quips about School and his family and romantic Life, although this is just to cover his disdain for all of them.

Vital Statistics
Age: 24

Height: 5'11

Hair: Dark brown

Eyes: Brown

Place of Birth: Sunnydale, California

Any distinguishing marks? Missing his left eye, wears a "Pirate's patch"

Family


 * Jessica Harris (mother)


 * Anthony Harris (father)


 * Rory (uncle)


 * Dave (uncle)

Skills/Powers/Abilities
 * Carol (cousin)
 * Moderately proficient in melee combat.
 * Vague knowledge of military training, tactics, and weapons handling techniques due to his brief transformation into a soldier by a spell.
 * Uncanny skills of insight, persuasion, and empathy.
 * Immense knowledge of carpentry and construction.

Professional occupation: A glorified bricklayer" aka Licensed Carpenter/Contractor
 * Wide knowledge of pop culture, sometimes rivaling that of Andrew. Understanding of the Klingon language.
 * Temporarily possessed by a demonic hyena spirit that granted him enhanced strength roughly equal, if not superior, to that of a Slayer, heightened senses, predatory instincts, a taste for fresh, raw meat, and a lack of social inhibitions.

Training and Education
 * High School graduate, barely

Played by Shroud